YHK-12-4-Vulnerable and Resilient by Youth Hong Kong

a quarterly journal from the hongkong federation of youth groups

Youth

December 2020

Volume 12 Number 4

HONG KONG

Vulnerable

and

Resilient

Contents

Due to the sensitive nature of the shared stories, please note that all names have been changed. OVERVIEW 4 What makes youth vulnerable? YOUTH SPEAK 7 In trouble 12 On the brink INTERVIEWS 14 Motivation to change Prof Daniel Wong University of Hong Kong 18 Family and impulsivity Dr Cheung Wai-him, psychiatrist PERSPECTIVES 20 Moving beyond stigma Joanne Wilson 22 Building resilience Barnabas: a rehabilitation centre SERVICES Project R and Project Radar 24 Begin from Family 25 26 Be Smart 27 Wellness Hub ON THE AGENDA 28 Protester Voices Project Change 30 YOUTH WATCH In conflict with the law 32 World snapshots FEATURES Seen on Lung Fu Shan 36 Woody Wu 38 Capturing the past Steven Ku HKFYG NEWS 40 Covid-19: Together we love and care Kayak and Clean 42 43 PH3 44 Future skills 45 Farm and camps HKFYG PUBLICATIONS 47 Annual plan 48 Youth IDEAS Report 52 flexible work 49 Report 53 advisory bodies 50 Report 54 employment 51 Online bookshop

December 2020 | Youth Hong Kong

Volume 12 Number 4

7-13

OVERVIEW

YOUTH SPEAK

14-19 INTERVIEWS

20-23

24-27

PERSPECTIVES

SERVICES

28-31 ON THE AGENDA

32-35 YOUTH WATCH

36-39 FEATURES

40-51 HKFYG

The cover image shows a bubble on a thorn bush. The thorns represent risk, the bubble represents vulnerability and its intact shape shows its resilience. YOUTH HONG KONG published quarterly by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups EDITORIAL BOARD Andy Ho (Chair) Elaine Morgan (Contributing Editor) Ada Chau (Managing Editor) Wilson Chan Angela Ngai Lakshmi Jacotă Hsu Siu-man Christa Cheung William Chung Miranda Ho Hon Adviser Veronica Pearson

CIRCULATION (unaudited) 9,000 in Hong Kong, throughout the region and overseas

VIEWS EXPRESSED are the authors’ and interviewees’, may come from official sources, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or publisher

ARTWORK & DESIGN DG3 & HKFYG

REPRODUCTION OF CONTENTS without written permission from the publisher is prohibited

LAYOUT & PRINTING DG3

OVERVIEW & INTERVIEWS Elaine Morgan, Ada Chau & CPS team

ISSN 2519-1098 (Online)

TRANSLATION Ada Chau & Angela Ngai

CORRESPONDENCE to The Editor, Youth Hong Kong, 21/F, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point, Hong Kong

PHOTOGRAPHS By editorial team, acknowledged as captioned, stock images or in public domain TRADEMARKS All brand names and product names are registered trademarks. Youth Hong Kong is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in articles.

COVER DESIGN DG3 ISSN 2071-3193 (Print) WEB youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk

TEL 3755 7096, 3755 7108 FAX 3755 7155 EMAIL youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Ada Chau 3755 7108

The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups was founded in 1960 and is the city’s largest youth service organization. More than 25,000 activities are organized by over 80 units annually with attendance of nearly 6 million. Services Camps, Leisure, Cultural and Sports Services, Counselling, Creativity education and STEM, Education and continuous learning, Employment and entrepreneurship, Exchange, Leadership training, M21 Multimedia, Parenting, Publications, Research and Publications, Volunteering, Youth at Risk, Youth SPOTs WEB hkfyg.org.hk m21.hk Online donations giving.hkfyg.org.hk

Editorial December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

There are times when we all feel vulnerable and we need to learn how to manage and negotiate such times to ensure we don’t end up behaving in ways that might cause ourselves or others harm. This is particularly true of young people who may sometimes lack the maturity or tools to deal with emotional or mental upheavals. This issue of Youth Hong Kong looks at some of the reasons behind potentially risky behaviour. We explore complex issues through stories and interviews and we look at various services offered in response to vulnerable youth’s needs. As you read, we hope you will be moved to share with us your own experiences, perhaps even some that have been caused by this incredibly challenging pandemic. Now, as 2020 winds down, we also wish you and your loved ones good health and shared wellness for the year ahead. Let’s hope that 2021 will bring recovery and relief after the very long, unusual year that lies behind us. Andy Ho Wing-cheong Executive Director, HKFYG December 2020

Overview December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Understanding vulnerability

• Many factors affect risk levels in youth depending on personal traits, emotions and backgrounds.

• 青年犯罪違規的風險水平受不同因素影響，與青年的個人特點、情緒，以及背景等息息相關。

• Some vulnerabilities can be short-lived but when they become serious, timely responses are needed.

• 有些危機是短暫性的，但如果這些風險持續出現且變得嚴重，青年就需要得到適時協助。

• In all cases, building resilience is essential to long term wellbeing and psychological health.

• 對大部分個案來說，協助他們建立良好抗逆力有助長遠的身心發展及心理健康。

Vulnerability in youth has many faces and many causes. It would be misleading to single out any specific cause in any individual. However, it is possible to pinpoint a number of regularly occurring significant risk factors. When these occur in combination, vulnerability to physical or psychological harm is greater.

neurodevelopmental changes that make adolescence a period of both vulnerability and opportunity. On the plus side, young people have the flexibility needed to adapt easily to changing sociocultural demands and to respond to counselling and therapy. On the minus side, large-scale epidemiological studies have reported that the median age of onset for a range of mental health problems is during adolescence and according to the World Health Organisation, the suicide rate is highest in 20-39 year-olds and the second leading cause of deaths in 15-29 year-olds.

Although adolescence is sometimes characterised as a risk factor in itself, something to be managed or controlled, current thinking highlights a series of

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true that young people do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, sometimes they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviour. In other cases, their perception of risk is larger than the reality. Yet, again, some young people take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness and cannot find any other solution to their predicament. In any of these circumstances, perceptions can prompt them to make poor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if not fatal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; decisions.

Evidently, the adolescent years play a crucial role in shaping outcomes that have wide-ranging and longlasting impact. Importantly, a number of external and intrinsic factors act to shape the course of adolescent development, whether that development is typical or atypical. Abuse and neglect during development are also associated with alterations in brain structure and this may increase the risk of psychiatric illnesses such as depression and borderline personality disorder.

Overview December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

What can be done to support adolescents and respond to their needs? One essential is awareness of the physical, economic, social and political factors that determine levels of youth vulnerability and the extent of their capacity to resist, cope and recover. Researchers have repeatedly found that certain stressors during childhood and adolescence create challenges for healthy development into adulthood. They include physical abuse and sexual violence. Living at home with a family that is struggling – whether with substance use, mental health problems or inadequate resources - is another strong indicator for vulnerability. Early identification of youth who risk becoming delinquent or committing an offence is crucial and it depends on accurate assessment. Not only does this allow the possibility of protecting them, it also reduces the huge costs of mental health problems and mental illness.

Mental health, mental illness and mental health disorders The terms “mental illness” and “mental health disorder” are often used interchangeably but the terms are sometimes used ambiguously. Mental health is part of all-round wellbeing. Mental illnesses are defined as changes causing distress or impaired functioning that do not encompass a person’s overall state of mind. For example, if a person is pessimistic and feeling sad, it does not mean they are suffering from a depressive disorder. Positive mental health, however, can increase certain protective factors such as resiliency and selfesteem which can mitigate the harms of mental illness. This is why mental health promotion is important when considering the connection between mental illness and juvenile delinquents or young offenders.

Counteracting vulnerability also requires positive, supportive relationships. Key determinants in the work of building youth’s capacity to withstand and cope with risk are their relationships with family and friends. But is prevention of risk and its outcomes real possibility? This is one of the questions that this issue explores. Stories of juvenile delinquents learning self-awareness and self-control, stories of attempted suicide and recovery and of drug addicts on the road to rehabilitation: these make for positive reading. Reducing the impact of vulnerabilities, through mitigation, prediction and preparedness is important. Even more so is tackling the root causes of vulnerability and recidivism, such as poverty, discrimination and the forms of inequality that lead to inadequate access to resources and livelihoods.

The HKFYG Youth Crime Prevention Centre offers assessment and treatment to youth at risk. Its outreach professionals help thousands of young people aged 10 to 24. Standardized, locally adapted tools for culturally appropriate screening and assessment have been developed by HKFYG in partnership with the University of Hong Kong. Counsellors can then identify at-risk youth quickly, provide guidance and positive experiences that reduce vulnerability and help young people learn to manage their emotions. E-mail: ycpc@hkfyg.org.hk Tel: (852) 8100 9669 Web: ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk/

Source publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2017-h01-cp/index-en.aspx

Note See Youth Hong Kong September 2012, Vol 4 (3) for more on detention centres, an alternative to imprisonment for male offenders aged 14 to 24. The emphasis is on hard physical labour and discipline with a “short sharp shock” intended to prevent re-offending again. Detention centre orders are available only for first offenders.

Youth speak December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

In trouble • Three young men talk about temptation into crime and the struggles they faced

• 三位青年跟我們剖白面對犯罪誘惑時的抉擇，以及生活中的種種困難爭扎。

• Sing got into trouble at primary school and was a triad by the time he was a teenager.

• Sing 自小學起已跟壞分子扯上關係，青少年時期更一度成為其中一員。

• Jerry finds his aggressiveness hard to control.

• Jerry 覺得難以控制自己的攻擊傾向。

• Siu-yan is making progress in his efforts to come off drugs.

• Siu-yan 努力地擺脫毒癮，希望重新出發。

Sing: triad teen “I hated primary school. The teachers were always shouting at me and I failed most of their tests. I didn’t care. There didn’t seem much point in learning stuff anyway. At home it wasn’t any better. Dad scared me. Always hitting or slapping me. Mum never stood up for me. Well, she didn’t seem to.

fault but he couldn’t see that. So I decided to show them all that I knew how to make money and get respect. Then they’d see how wrong they were.

Nag, nag, nag: that’s all I got. Why didn’t I work harder at school? Why couldn’t I get a job and start bringing money home? Why had I spent all my pocket money the day I after they gave it to me? Always money. Never enough.

I was 16 by then. I started earning money, running errands for the gang boss, stealing, selling drugs and sometimes smashing people’s stuff. That helped me relax a bit and not feel so angry. I forgot about all they tried to teach us at school right and wrong. It felt good to impress the others, especially Nally.

The other kids at school got on my nerves. One in particular, always trying to be clever or messing with my stuff. I picked a fight with him just to see if I could shut him up. The teacher made me stand outside the classroom all morning. It wasn’t all my

Nally is my girlfriend. Every morning, the gang came past home. We all went off together looking like we were going to school. Of course we weren’t. We hung out at the video game shop. From then on, that’s how I spent most of my time. Cont'd... 7

Youth speak December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

When we weren’t on triad business, Nally and I used to hang out on the waterfront. She was so sexy. It drove me mad. She was 15, nearly old enough. Anyhow, I couldn’t help myself. In the end some snitch from school must have told on us. Nally’s parents called the police and I was arrested for underage sex. I thought that would be the end of me.

My case worker gave me a test to do and told me the answers had to be honest. When she saw the results, it scared me. She said I was at serious risk of ending up in jail for a long time. But she also said that it wasn’t all my fault and that she might be able to help me. I laughed at her but I did start to listen.

Sing is s till a teenager. He trusts his case worker and calls her his friend. She has given him some goals to work towards.

She taught me how to stop and think instead of reacting and losing my temper. Before I grabbed at stuff like chocolates and cakes she put on the table, she made me wait and count to ten. It was hard but she said I had to control myself if I wanted a life outside prison. First, I didn’t believe her but in the end I did. I discovered tastes and smells and feelings. I learned about gardening and cooking and making tea. If you’d asked me to do any of these a month earlier, I’d have said you were crazy.

But somehow, I got lucky. The social workers came and I don’t know where I’d be if it were not for my case worker. But I didn’t take her very seriously at first. She told me to do such stupid things, like take deep breaths whenever I felt angry. Mindfulness, she called it. But she also asked me to tell her everything about myself. Nobody had ever taken an interest in me like that before, except Nally.

I told her how the gang urged me on to show I wasn’t just a weak young kid.

It was hard at first, talking about the fights at home, about being pushed around at school and then about learning how to protect myself. I told her how the gang urged me on to show I wasn’t just a weak young kid and how they made me feel like a man.

Maybe this mindfulness worked because it showed me how to see the world from another angle but it also helped me be more confident. I stopped thinking I had to impress people or be a failure.” “I’ve never had a friend like her before. It’s funny, but learning about myself has turned me into someone I’d never thought I could be.”

Jerry: out of control “When people let me down, I lose my temper. It happens suddenly. I’ve always been like that. It’s the way I am, my social worker says, but I’m trying to change.

that kind of thing. I was tired and it turned to a real row. She hit a nerve. She said I was useless and didn’t earn enough even though I’d been trying very hard to keep my job.

A social worker walked up to me one night and started chatting. He taught me some tricks that help me be less angry and stay in control. Whenever I feel that anger bubbling up inside, I can sometimes catch myself before I do anything I’ll regret.

I suppose I went a bit crazy. It was unfair of her. It’s been so difficult because of the virus and I’ve tried everything: sales, insurance, part-time jobs of all sorts.

I’m trying to prove that I’ve changed. I know that if I lose control again, it’ll be my fault.

I remember when I was a kid, Mum and Dad spoiled me and my older brother, even though they don’t have much money. I did OK at school. Sometimes it seemed I could never do anything wrong, but to be honest, my parents never really talked to me much and sometimes it seemed we lived in two different worlds.

Maybe it started back then, this aggressive thing I’ve got. I also get bored easily and I joined a gang. We used to have fights with other gangs. I was about 15 then and could get angry as fast as anyone. Sometimes I couldn’t stop before I hit someone. We all carried weapons of some sort. Some of the others got arrested. I was luckier and got away. Then one day, when I was a few years older, I lost it with my girlfriend. It wasn’t over anything much. She used to stay at our place and was always checking my phone. I don’t like

When I realized I’d hit her and there was blood everywhere from a big cut across her eyebrow, I felt so sorry. She’d always been my girl for ages and supported me in everything. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I love her. It was an accident. Really.”

Jerry is now 23. The lessons the social worker taught him for impulse control usually work. He often recognizes the triggers that make him lose control and works out ways to calm down before it gets worse. “It worked for very long time. Just that one time she really hit the bottom line by saying I was useless. I want to be a responsible person who knows how to face pressure but I have to learn my lessons over and over again. The lessons my social worker taught me, how not to be easily maddened by someone’s careless words. Perhaps my girlfriend will forgive me one day. I’m trying to prove that I’ve changed. I know that if I lose control again, it’ll be my fault.” 9

Youth speak December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Siu-yan: drug addict “I went to school mostly in mainland China. My greataunt looked after most of the time. I skipped a lot of classes and started on Ice about ten years ago. That’s when she sent me back to Hong Kong to live with Dad. Dad was strict and I didn’t like that either so I used to steal from him to buy drugs. He never really noticed anyway. He didn’t care. That’s what I thought, anyway. Nobody cared, actually.

I started hearing voices. I saw people watching me everywhere. One day, I thought someone followed me home. I had a knife in my pocket so I waited outside our door to stop him getting in. I thought it was the drug dealer and that he’d tell my folks I was hooked.

I started hearing voices. I saw people watching me everywhere.

I hung out with my cousin near home in Tseung Kwan O. We used to get bullied by the triads around our estate so we joined another gang for protection. They got me into selling heroin. I made good money. Enough to buy drugs, but they slowed me down and stopped me sleeping. My folks

noticed. They found the drugs and Dad’s sister tried to take them away. That made me feel worse so I hit her. Then really bad things started happening.

Dad found me there. I think he was scared about the state I was in. He got me sent to hospital. I ended up there many, many times before they sent me to a detox centre. A doctor tried to make me take some pills but they made me feel bad so. I flushed them down the toilet. That was when I was 19.

Dad threatened to kick me out if I didn’t give up drugs. I didn’t believe him, but I was wrong. Maybe they were all scared. They changed the locks. They didn’t answer when I banged on the door. They never answered the phone. I felt totally shut out. No support from anyone. It hurt. One night when I was on my way to meet up with the gang, a social worker stopped me. I felt lonely. I’d have chatted to anyone and from then on he kept turning up and finding me. I told him about life and he said drugs had affected my brain. He told me I could get better and said if I had a job my folks might take me in again.

Siu-yan is 27 now. He has been off drugs for a while. The HKFYG outreach worker encouraged him to join a rehabilitation programme run by another NGO called Operation Dawn.* Siu-yan understands the damage drugs have done to his mind and still tries to get in touch with his family. “I’ll keep on trying. I understand their problems better now. Maybe they still care about me. I’ve done a lot of damage and made it very hard for them but if they see I’ve changed, maybe let me go back home. That’s all I really want. A real home and a family.”

* More on Operation Dawn, a drug rehabilitation centre on Town Island ( 伙頭墳洲 Fo Tau Fan Chau) at opdawn.org.hk/en/

Youth speak December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

On the brink • Persistent misunderstandings can prevent suicidal young people from getting help.

• 持續被誤解令有自殺傾向的青年抗拒求助。

• It can never be assumed that a suicide attempt is just an appeal for attention.

• 我們不應假定自殺只是尋求別人關注的手段。

• Real danger faced both Sze and Cindy, both of whom were helped by HKFYG social workers.

• Sze 及 Cindy 均曾企圖自殺，並接受香港青年協會社工的專業輔導。

Sze: caught shoplifting “At home, there have always been strict rules. At school, I didn’t get good results. At work, the boss always seemed to pick on me. I suppose I put pressure on myself too, panicking about trying to please other people and failing. I never used to let anyone know how I felt. I bottled it all up and pretended to be calm. Eventually, I was so stressed that I started cutting myself. I don’t really know why. It seemed to distract me from all my troubles. Then I stopped eating, but I don’t think anyone really noticed. Sze was caught shoplifting when she was 21 when she started stealing but her troubles started long before that. In order for her to recover, a counsellor helped her relax the rules she set for herself and escape from a mesh of negative thoughts. Every day, I used to wake up and hate myself until one day I started stealing. I didn’t really want the things I took and was so ashamed when the police arrested me. I was put on probation but just wanted to end it all. One day, Dad found me on the roof. He was just in time to stop me jumping. I was sent to hospital but I refused to talk to anyone. I just wanted to avoid the world. In the end, a social worker came to see me. He coaxed me into telling him many things about myself that I had never told

I learned to listen to myself and recognize the triggers that made me panic. anyone else. About my boyfriend and how I thought I couldn’t live up to his standards, about being desperate for approval but feeling hopeless inside. The social worker was so patient. He helped me see how I set traps for myself, always imagining the worst. I learned to listen to myself and recognize the triggers that made me panic. I discovered how to stop that horrible downward spiral that led me into a black hole of depression.” I have put what I did wrong behind me and see the world in many colours now, not just black and white. I can see Dad is an introvert like me. I never realized that before. I see Mum needs me to look after her and that helps me be less inwardlooking. I was so surprised when people at work didn’t seem to be labelling me even though they know I got into trouble. The world is beginning to look like a new place.”

Cyndy: attempted suicide “My parents got divorced when I was two. Since then, I’ve always lived with Mum. I have no memory of my father. We never saw him again. Even though we lived together, Mum and I hardly ever talked to each other. She used to send me to my auntie’s flat each day when she went to work. It was auntie who took me to school and made my dinner. Mum picked me up around 9 at night on her way home after work and then we went to bed. That was it. Our life together. The only special thing I remember is being good at sport, particularly athletics and I dreamt of being a sports coach one day. Cyndy attempted suicide when she was 20. She didn’t have close friends and even her mother was rather distant at home. When she became suicidal, her mother confessed – she too had emotional problems. A couple of years ago, when I was 19, I had a boyfriend. It didn’t last long. He fell in love with someone else. That hit me hard. It was around then that Mum met a social worker. I was actually quite shocked when I found out because Mum had told her all about me. I didn’t want to meet her but Mum insisted and we got on OK. She was nice and I started to WhatsApp her about how bad I still felt about breaking up with my boyfriend.

In the end, I hated myself and cut myself and then tried to end it all.

changed everything. After that, I agreed to see a psychiatrist who said I was suffering from serious depression. He gave me medication, something like Mum was taking. All of a sudden, I felt better. It was like a window opening and fresh air coming in. My social worker also helped me a lot and I was touched by the way she cared about me even before we knew each other well.

That feeling stayed with me for a long time. I always shut myself in my room when I’m down and can’t talk to anyone. In the end, I hated myself and cut myself and then tried to end it all by closing the windows and burning charcoal while Mum was at work but I couldn’t do it without saying goodbye. I messaged her. Next thing I knew, the firemen arrived. Mum had called the police and I was sent to hospital. My only memory of being there is staring up at the ceiling in an emergency ward, thinking nothing, wanting to die. Although I didn’t feel like talking, Mum did. She told me about herself, about her own problems and the awful feelings she had and the medications she has to take. That

I do voluntary work with the elderly now. It helps me and reminds me of Grandma. I see now that Mum, me and Grandma are alike. We all need each other. Although my feelings get me down sometimes, maybe I’ll make that childhood dream come true.”

Interview December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Motivation to change •A totally new approach has been developed to assess youth at risk in Hong Kong.

• 一套專為本港高風險青年而設的評估工具及輔導手法在過去兩年正在發展。

• Prof Daniel Wong joined forces with HKFYG in a project that may prevent them getting into trouble.

• 黃富強教授跟香港青年協會合作，透過計劃防止高風險青年犯罪。

•Participants learned to recognize triggers for delinquency and other unsocial behavior and control their emotions.

• 參加計劃的高風險青年學習如何辨識自己犯罪的因素，並嘗試透過改善其行為及控制情緒來降低犯罪的機會。

Frontline social workers regularly make contact with young people who hang out late at night and risk getting into trouble. If they are on the margins of society, they often have nothing much to do but get mixed up with gangs and then get trapped in a web of violence, drugs and theft. They bend all too easily to peer pressure and lose sight of right and wrong.

their emotions and develop coping strategies. A few years ago, the Federation’s workers consulted Prof Daniel Wong, an expert in the field of CBT, on how to refine their counselling approach and since then, young people at risk who are supported by HKFYG have been gaining the motivation to change.

What can be done to help them find a better way? One approach is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It is used with people who have various problems and teaches them to challenge their own negativity, control

“When the social workers at HKFYG told me about cases they work with and when I saw that many young delinquents in Hong Kong had emotional health issues, it all suddenly clicked,” Prof Wong recalls. “Seeing the consistent connection between delinquency and dysfunctional ways of thinking was the start of a new study which looked at the interaction of these factors in Hong Kong youth.”

No other such assessment tool exists in Chinese or any other language. This is a new approch.

“If youth at risk are willing to listen to advice, they can learn lessons that stop them acting purely on impulse,” Prof Wong continues. Instead of getting arrested and ending up in jail, they find out how to control their anger and frustration by recognizing the triggers that set off a chain reaction. They learn how to stop, think and remember the possible consequences of acting impulsively. These lessons are taught and reinforced through CBT. Although the spotlight in the study was on the two interlinked factors, the researchers are very careful to point out that they are not necessarily connected. “I would never say that young delinquents are mentally ill.” To do so would be misleading and would lead to unintended labelling and stigmatization. Instead, the mental health status of

delinquent or marginal youth is taken into consideration when looking for ways to help them. The emphasis is on the ways in which a tendency to delinquency interacts with a tendency to feel and think differently from most people. The work done by Prof Wong’s team with HKFYG led to a series of projects and publications. The most recent project* concerns using CBT with a group of 300 marginal youth supported by the Federation. “There are five mental health risk factors connected with the negative psychological states that can lead to delinquency,” Prof Wong explains. Among the five factors, the most consistently significant is impulsivity. Anger and aggression, low self-esteem and loneliness are others.

Interview December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

In the study, an assessment tool in the form of a questionnaire in Chinese asked the participants about these risk factors. “When the data was analyzed by the team at the University of Hong Kong, we saw that we could identify, the young people most at risk of delinquency by using the assessment tool,” says Prof Wong. “As far as we know, no other such assessment tool exists in Chinese or any other language.” The next step was to help those young people build the motivation needed to control their own feelings, impulses, reactions and behaviour. With CBT’s guiding principles to the fore, the emphasis was on helping individuals learn to help themselves. Through a set of exercises, they developed skills for thinking and behaving. These coping skills helped them learn how to change, start to see themselves differently and set positive goals for the future. “With CBT, we can teach young people at risk to identify the triggers for their impulsive behaviour and control their reaction.”

What is CBT? Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is used to treat people with mental health problems. Aaron Beck, often considered to be the father of CBT, realized that the link between thoughts and feelings was very important and CBT is based on the interactions between how we think with how we feel and how we behave. Beck invented the term “automatic thoughts” to describe the emotion-filled thoughts that can occur suddenly. He found that identifying and shaping these thoughts was the key to understanding and overcoming difficulties.

How CBT helps young offenders Neurobiology tells us that young people’s brains are still developing so CBT can be effective in shaping the thinking patterns of youth predisposed to impulsive delinquent behaviour. CBT has also proved helpful for drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, panic attacks, insomnia and clinical depression. It aims to reduce self-destructive behaviour by teaching how to evaluate and modify ways of thinking and decision-making. It offers practical strategies that help people avoid impulsive actions, improve their self-image and adapt to their environment.

This is a new approach. No other assessment tool like this exists in Chinese or any other language.

Learning how to curb one’s own impulsive behaviour involves recognizing and understanding the benefits. The key to the success of this approach lies in the active involvement of clients but they must also believe that their thinking and behaving has been distorted. Only then will they have the willpower to change and the motivation that makes changing worthwhile. For young delinquents, the threat of prison and rejection by family could be enough to provide motivation. For more disengaged marginal youth, the process could be more complex. In all cases, success will also depend on the skills of social workers or other experts. The long-term outcome of CBT as a therapy for young delinquents in Hong Kong is not yet fully established. It will take further research over a longer period to produce more solid evidence that CBT with juvenile delinquents and other youth at risk has long-lasting benefits. For that, more funding is needed, Prof Wong reminds us.

Potential partners for such research are invited to contact Wilson Chan, the first supervisor of the Federation's Youth Crime Prevention Centre and now Deputy Executive Director of HKFYG. Contact wilson.chan@hkfyg.org.hk

Services December 2020â&#x2C6;ŁYouth Hong Kong

E.Positive

a new education and counselling service

ental health issues can be a catalyst for behaviour even if there is no causal relationship between them. Recognizing the link, analytical tools that enabled identification of youth at risk were developed by Hong Kong academics and HKFYG and the E.Positive education and counselling service was launched. A research and counselling team headed by the University of Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Professor Daniel Wong studied a sample of 3,400 10-24-year-olds over a period of two years. [see interview opposite.] The study included screening and assessment, cognitive therapy and mindfulness training to support mental health. It looked at five areas: impulsiveness, aggressive tendencies, self-esteem, loneliness and negativity. The young participants answered 25 questions and a score indicating risk-level for developing delinquent behaviour was assigned to each of them. With their answers, it was possible to identify those at high risk of developing delinquent or deviant behaviour and provide them with further services. 545 young people were eligible and spent another 4 to 8 weeks with the counselling team. 85 of them were identified as being in the top risk-level category and this group were given cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness cognitive behaviour therapy by social workers. The therapy helped them to understand their emotions and how they reacted. Through a series of exercises and practice, they gradually learnt how to deal with their emotional problems. Instead of venting emotion as delinquent behaviour, hurting themselves or other people, the social workers showed them how to release their anger and stress in a positive way. For young participants who experienced either very low self-esteem or extreme loneliness, they offered help to develop positive social networks.

After the therapy, the young participants were asked to answer the same 25 questions again and answers were compared to their previous responses. These showed that their thought patterns had changed as a result of counselling and a relationship between their mental health issues and deviant or delinquent behaviour was also revealed. Nevertheless, the team stressed that the relationship was not causal. On the other hand, the high-risk young people who took part had learned to understand themselves better and knew in consequence how to recognize triggers of undesirable behaviour and avoid straying into delinquency and deviancy. A new chapter in the E.Positive project began in September 2020 serving at-risk children aged 10-18 with screening and counselling

Prof Daniel Wong Fu-keung is a clinical psychologist and mental health social work researcher at the University of Hong Kong. His major research interests include evidencebased practice in mental health and CBT. His pioneering work in these fields has involved adapting CBT for Chinese people including youth.

Partners The D. H. Chen Foundation Save the Children More details ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk Enquiries Kenneth Yeung 2701 8866 17

Interview December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Family and impulsivity • Dr Cheung Wai-him, a psychiatrist, helps arrested youth referred by social workers.

• 精神科醫生張偉謙跟社工合作，為被捕青年提供協助。

• Drug abuse, shoplifting and sexual assault are some of their offences.zz

• 部分青年干犯與毒品、偷竊及性相關的罪行。

• He emphasizes the significant role of both nature and nurture in their development.

• 他強調先天和後天因素對青年發展同樣重要。

Trying to understand youth crime begins with understanding what causes it. The roots lie in the complex interaction of several factors, according to Dr Cheung who mentions personality traits, the home environment and vulnerable mental health status. “There are many factors that act together to predispose young people to commit crime. They include mental health issues, family background and school environment, as well as peer pressure, but none can be singled out as the root cause.” While a combination of these underlying factors may help to explain why young people get into trouble with the law, a gender factor is also at play. There are many more male than female young offenders. “The reasons may be a function of the way in which girls and women tend to internalize negative emotions and develop anxiety and mood disorders. Males tend to externalize negative emotions and act out impulsively and aggressively,” Dr Cheung says.

Girls and women tend to internalize negative emotions and develop anxiety and mood disorders. Males tend to externalize negative emotions and act out impulsively and aggressively.

Nevertheless, both male and female youth can be impulsive enough to break the law. Understandably, they become very emotional after arrest and during all the legal proceedings that follow. Such vulnerable youth need sensitive treatment if they are to recover successfully. Dr Cheung describes a couple of typical cases he has seen that involve impulse control. “First, I make a detailed assessment to see if there is a need for medical treatment. Depending on the diagnosis, sometimes we advocate psychotherapy.” Once his clients have become more emotionally stable, the key to rehabilitation is motivation and the empowerment and confidence to not revert to crime. In both of the cases he describes, families play a significant role. Indeed, some young people’s problems stem from family issues. If these can be discussed openly and all the family is committed to change, progress is easier to make. “A 16-year-old boy with family issues was sent to me for treatment. He lived at home with his mother, a single parent. They often argued and he would storm out late at night after a fight with her and wander round the streets. He was found twice, in quick succession, molesting underage

It is important to recognize that mental health factors and family factors alone are inadequate in explaining why young people commit crimes. girls. After arrest for indecent assault, he was referred to social workers and then came to me for assessment because of his volatility. I diagnosed ADHD and conduct disorder and started him on medication. His mood improved quickly and so did his relationship with his mother.” But there is always a challenge involved with parents, Dr Cheung points out. “By the time there is trouble, parents will have come to their own conclusions about a kid’s behaviour so in the case of this boy, I needed to explain my diagnosis to the mother. She had labelled him as bad and lazy. In fact there is a strong genetic element in ADHD so if a parent recognizes this, it helps them understand.” When the boy appeared in court on the two charges, he was given a lenient sentence as a result of the intervention which convinced the court there was a reduced risk of him reoffending.

The second case described by Dr Cheung involved a girl in her late teens who was a habitual shoplifter. Compulsive shoplifting can occur because of an acute sense of deprivation, whether or not money is scarce, and although stealing provided the girl with temporary relief, she had underlying problems of emotional and behavioural self-control. “Her life was difficult. She was left at home to look after her sick father while her mother went to work to support the family. When the police arrested her, she became so emotionally disturbed about the possibility of being sent to prison that she was referred to me for counselling. I helped her calm down throughout the legal process.” Her family were eventually encouraging and supportive too, benefitting from Dr Cheung’s counselling and a social worker’s supervision. The young people he sees mostly have two factors in common, as in the cases described above. Those are mental health and family issues. “Most of the young people who come to see me have also shown willingness to change. Usually I have no problem in establishing a good relationship with them. However maintaining that is important and usually the family has a role to play. I try to involve family members at consultation sessions.” While working with young offenders and observing the correlation between mental health status and family background, Dr Cheung focuses on the critical role of parents in child development. Nevertheless, he says, “It is important to recognize that mental health factors and family factors alone are inadequate in explaining why young people commit crimes.” Dr Cheung Wai-him has worked for many years in cooperation with HKFYG. He has offered training workshops for social workers both at work and while studying at university. Formerly, he worked as a medical professional in the substance abuse section of the public health service.

Perspectives December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Moving beyond stigma by Joanne Wilson Nobody likes to be seen in a negative way. Nobody wants to be labelled “crazy”, “unpredictable”, or “criminal”. Nobody wants to be feared, misunderstood or ignored. Unfortunately, the experience of many people living with mental health issues is just that. As a mental health social worker in a large Canadian city, I was a member of a multidisciplinary team that assisted people with major mental health issues to live successfully in the community. I witnessed first-hand how discrimination and stigmatization made community integration and recovery difficult for the individuals I was trying to help but, sadly, the stigma of being labelled prevents many people from asking for help. They want to be seen as a whole person, not reduced to a “diagnosis” or seen as a problem. They blame themselves for the symptoms they are experiencing and do not see that mental illness is a medical condition that can be treated, like diabetes or heart disease. However, the longer it takes for a person to get connected to mental health support, the greater the impact on other areas of their life. Their symptoms may increase and their personal relationships may become strained. They may commit a crime and become involved in the criminal justice system. Furthermore, recovery for a young person who is labelled as a “delinquent” or for anyone who is called “criminal” can be delayed. The stigma or negative attitudes surrounding mental health can make it very hard for someone to find and maintain a decent place to live or work. Landlords often do not want to rent an apartment to a person who is known to have a mental health issue and employers may be reluctant to hire and give the necessary support to such people. Although this violates the Human Rights Code in Canada, discrimination by landlords and employers is all too common and further complicates securing a safe place to live and finding a meaningful job.* Often there is an outcry by neighbours when mental health and offender programmes locate or relocate into a community. This may be as a result of belief in the myth 20

that if there are people with mental health issues or past criminal convictions in the neighbourhood it will decrease property values or increase crime levels. Neighbourhood businesses can also make people feel unwelcome. The families of those with mental health problems are also impacted by the negative attitudes, myths and stereotypes of mental illness in society. Stigma can lead those families to feel isolated and alone. They can feel guilty and ashamed of their loved ones, blame themselves for the illness and carry the burden in silence. The mental health system in any jurisdiction can be difficult to understand and navigate but when families are offered education and support they do not feel so alone and can help their loved ones to feel positive and hopeful that there is help available for them.

My work experience has shown me that educating the public and encouraging open discussion regarding mental health can reduce prejudices and discrimination. In Canada one out of five people will have a mental health problem at some time in their life. When people are reminded of this statistic they realize that it can affect anyone regardless of age, race, religion, education and income levels. In Canada there are many programs funded by the government as well as by some private companies to provide this education. The goal is to eliminate the stigma of mental health and to allow people to talk about it without embarrassment or feelings of awkwardness. By addressing difficult issues such as these and focusing on both positive experiences and effective treatments, individuals, families and communities can move beyond stigma.

Mental health, social stigma and lack of understanding There were up to 1.7 million people In Hong Kong, with mental health issues in 2016 according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which looked at mental health integration in 15 Asian-Pacific territories. 70,000 to 200,000 of them suffered from suffer from more severe forms of the illness. Research has found that 71% of people in Hong Kong are unwilling to live with mental health sufferers, with a third even willing to end friendships with those diagnosed with mental illness. More than half believe they will be penalized at work for talking about their mental health challenges. 55% have experienced stigma or know someone who experiences stigma. The number of public sector psychiatrists in Hong Kong per 100,000 people is 4.8 compared to 8.59 for many high-

income countries. Patients’ can wait over two years to see a mental health specialist and each appointment lasts on average only 6-8 minutes. 60% of Hong Kong adults do not know where to seek help regarding mental health outside of hospitals. Low-income families are often unable to afford private sector psychiatric consultations which, when unsubsidised, range from about HK$1,000 to over HK$3,000. The situation got worse this year, with about 12.5% of individuals using the Samaritans’ hotline and email services reporting suicidal thoughts in January and the figure rose to 13.5% by April. The HKFYG 24-hour text platform, Open Up, aimed at 12-29 year-olds, reported an increase of 28% in young people contacting them due to emotional distress.

• scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2026822/hong-kong-ranks-7th-mental-health-study-scoring • mind.org.hk/mental-health-in-hong-kong/ • scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3105943/hong-kong-witnesses-alarming-rise-young-people

In Hong Kong, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (among other legislation) seek to strike a balance between the needs of an employer for sufficient information about prospective employees and protecting an individual’s right to privacy. However, it is not always easy to know when an employer can require an employee or candidate to disclose prior convictions, and whether the employee can refuse. Read more elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap297 hsfnotes.com/employment/2018/01/29/hong-kong-disclosure-of-criminal-convictions/

Joanne Wilson (MSW) has worked as a social worker for over 30 years and now divides her time between Canada and Hong Kong.

Perspectives December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Building resilience In two village houses with a view of sparkling blue sea, a dozen young women are at work: learning book-keeping, preparing PowerPoint slideshows, playing the piano. Students, but also offenders. Sentenced to prison, they were lucky to be given a choice: rehabilitation on Lamma Island at the Barnabas Charitable Service Association, supervised by Bella Chan. In peace and quiet, the women aged 19 upwards have time to reflect on their past, learn to stay calm and discover skills for the future. Bella used to teach physical education. Now, her experience gives her the wisdom to create balance and she says she teaches “with Jesus’ love.” Along with lessons on drug prevention, the students do bible study and learn health and hygiene, IT, accounting and cooking. Take Emily, for example. Hallucinatory drugs could have been the end of her but just in time she was taken to a psychiatric ward and eventually sent to Lamma. Very overweight as withdrawal symptoms took effect, she was determined never to go back to her old ways. Instead, Emily focused on exercise and lost half of the 100kg she once weighed. She likes to recite from the bible and write about her life. She makes PowerPoint presentations showing days of hiking, gardening, kayaking and climbing. She speaks poignantly about her life at the centre and her fondness of Bella, about the normal life she wants. “But I also dream of seeing the world. I have never left Hong Kong and hope travelling will be possible again, one day.”

Then, there’s Ah Wah, a mother already with an eleven year old in boarding school. “They call me Ten-KWah, I love running and can do 10 kilometres,” she says with a cheeky grin. “I’ve been here for twoand-a-half years already but I’ll never take drugs again.” Ah Wah had to learn self-discipline after arrest for smuggling and detention at Hei Ling Chau. She left the prison to come to Lamma and rapidly put on weight, but like Emily, she is working hard to shake it off and looks forward to seeing her boy again. “Once, I used Ice to stay slim, but I love food, especially fish. I also love running and am down to 78kg. I’ve learned English, piano, drums, maths and typing, but the most important lesson here was how to be human.” Nicole’s story begins with drugs at 16. The police caught her with a gram each of ketamine and cocaine: addicted and defiant. That was about a year ago. Now, she spends

by J Childs

centre.” But that all changed when one of the village chief’s family had a stroke. Bella’s skills helped her recover. It is extremely difficult to break free from addiction. Some people never recover and others have their lives damaged by prejudice and discrimination. At the Barnabas centre, where success lies in discipline, motivation and empowerment, as well as the sense of being cared for, the goal is to show that, as Bella puts it, “All is possible. I help the girls conquer their fears, experience God’s love and make their dreams come true.”

her time learning book-keeping and with Bella’s coaching is taking her first public exam. Nicole has become a pianist and grows aloe vera to make a facial gel for her skin. Her dream of being a makeup artist one day. From a broken home, she came to the Barnabas centre with low expectations but has found high hopes. Although she misses the excitement of city life and hates the inescapable Lamma mosquitoes, she is happy. Drugs? Never again. What matters most is her teacher, Bella. “With her, I have found what was missing: love and affection.” By teaching job skills and confidence-building strengths, Bella shows her students the way back to the real world. Although their timetable is disciplined, the activities are flexible. If Bella sees motivation, she adjusts the programme and learns new skills herself to pass on to the girls. She stresses the importance of communication, face to face, with the internet and phones banned.

With thanks to the Barnabas Charitable Service Association which provides rehabilitation and recovery services for female drug abuse users looking to rebuild their lives. Values are centered on promoting a community spirit and mutual respect. The association’s work began in 1981 and its training centre moved into its present rural premises in 1990. The main service targets are girls and young women under the age of 40 although there is no strict age limit.

“The students come from very mixed backgrounds and can be difficult. It is like a melting pot here and in the past, the local community was not happy about our

E-mail mos-office@barnabas.org.hk

Residential programme 9 months at Lamma Training Centre and 3 months at Ma On Shan half-way House Aftercare service 1-year Tel 26401683. WhatsApp 52097575 Web barnabas.com.hk

Services December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Supporting arrested youth

nightmare for any parent is a son or daughter in trouble. For youth, victims and parents, the Federation's Youth Crime Prevention Centre is there to help. Early intervention, scientific risk assessment and counselling are all part of the work of HKFYG's Youth Crime Prevention Centre (YCPC). At the front line are outreach professionals who launch award-winning projects like Project R and Project RADAR with multidisciplinary cooperation.

Project RADAR For young people with hidden drug abuse problems and drug-related criminal offences Territory-wide, evidence-based counselling and treatment

Project “R” for Rational thinking, Rational behaviour and Reconnection  Assisting arrested youth  Specialized services, crisis intervention, counselling and family support  Focusing on reconnecting young offenders with normal life Goals To stop the vicious cycle of youth criminality and offer support for those who are trying to become law-abiding, healthy young people First launched in 2012, the Keswick Foundation gave support to Project “R” in 2014. Collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong and a multidisciplinary team followed. A scientific assessment tool for recidivism and timing of interventions was developed and evaluation of the project’s effectiveness found it filled the service gap and reduced recidivism in young offenders significantly. Major project partners City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Police Force Sponsor The Keswick Foundation (2014-2017) More details hkfyg.org.hk/zh/2017/05/09/

Goals Improved preventive education for high-risk targets with awareness of drug-related problems among social media users enabled by tracking drug-related phenomena on social media and online platforms In operation since June 2016, with completion in November 2021, the participants are 10-35-year-olds. A locally customized tool for adolescent drug-related offence risk assessment and evaluation of assessment shows good reliability and validity. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is used for crisis intervention, treatment and assessment, plus positive life skills training and post-CBT outcomes include significantly lower rate of drug-related recidivism, lower frequency of drug abuse and lower levels of criminal tendencies Features  Multidisciplinary collaboration with police and other law enforcement agencies plus hospitals and Social Welfare Department  Family support to enhance psychological wellbeing and problem-solving ability  Big data analytics via social media platforms with ClusterTech Limited  Evidence of drug abuse-related trends and correlations in Hong Kong  Artificial intelligence to analyze drug-related posts and comments on social media platforms and explore correlations between underlying problems More details hkfyg.org.hk/en/2019/11/15/projectradar/ Partner University of Hong Kong Sponsor Beat Drugs Fund

Project R and Project RADAR Hong Kong’s Top Ten Best Practice Awards in Social Welfare: 2017 and 2019

Begin from Family

a preventive educational project

“Begin from Family” (BFF), organized by HKFYG’s Youth Crime Prevention Centre (YCPC), has been funded by the Beat Drugs Fund since April 2017. Main targets are high-risk youth with behavioural and emotional problems, including special educational needs. Resources are designed for them and their parents. Part II of the project began in May this year. It is designed to identify high-risk youth and families and offer them support.

Goals  Minimizing delinquency, crime and drugtaking among youth-at-risk  Stronger, more functional relationships through enhanced parenting and family communication  Improving young people’s emotional control as well as social skills

A localized assessment tool has been developed for BFF to understand family needs and the risks of drug-taking behavior among youth. Evaluation of results show enhanced family communication and cohesion, better parental supervision and stronger resistance to substance abuse among youth. Hong Kong primary and secondary schools take part.

Resources include

 Enhancing awareness of drug-related issues among parents and youth

 Training manuals for social workers and teachers

 Preventing youth from developing delinquent, criminal and drug-taking behavior patterns

 Three training resource kits for participants

A parent says

Her son says

“I used to scold my boys when they didn’t get their work done but after joining BFF, I can see they needed time to change. Now they are behaving much better and the BFF cooking session was really impressive. Although we had never cooked together but we recently tried making dumplings at home. They helped with everything and I can see the good BFF has done them.”

“Mum doesn’t lose her temper with me so much now, she even makes time to play chess and cards and we get on much better than before.”

“I know more about the different types of drugs and how to identify them because of BFF. It’s important to tell kids about what they should not do - smoking, drinking, taking drugs – and how to say no.”

 Educational videos

“I know about drugs like cannabis and ketamine from BFF and how to say “no” to them. I am sure I won’t take any drugs in future. It’s bad for me and I know it.”

Strengthening Families Programme The American Strengthening Families Programme (SFP) is an internationally recognized evidence-based family skills and drug prevention programme. Four levels of training in life skills and parenting include bonding, setting boundaries and monitoring children’s behaviour. Lessons include communication skills, rules, rewards and responsibilities, stress and anger management skills, problem solving and win-win negotiation. “Begin from Family” adopts SFP content translated into Chinese and adapted for Hong Kong Read more ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk/2019/10/21/begin-from-family/

Partner Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at The City University of Hong Kong

Services December 2020â&#x2C6;ŁYouth Hong Kong

Be smart, live healthily

preventing and reducing smoking and drinking Many young people seek sensation, comfort and peer approval through drinking and smoking. That includes the use of electronic cigarettes, also called vaping. They may not realize the damage these can do nor the risks of acute and chronic illness that they pose, both to users and to their families.

According to government surveys, the trend in alcohol consumption and the use of e-cigarettes is rising in Hong Kong among adults and youth alike. The use rate for e-cigarettes among smokers aged 15-19 is 15.8%, significantly higher than among those aged 30 or over.*

Binge drinking, or heavy drinking in a short session, has many effects on the body and can result in antisocial behaviour, alcohol poisoning and even loss of consciousness. E-cigarettes, on the other hand, produce an inhalable mixture containing flavoured liquids and nicotine. The nicotine is addictive and can harm brain development but vaping has grown rapidly, particularly among young people and use of e-cigarettes is a significant public health concern.

To address the situation, the HKFYG Youth Crime Prevention Centre has launched a sponsored project called Be Smart Youth - Youth Healthy Living Plan. Prevention, education and reduction are the main strategies. Aimed at youth under 24, the focus is on better understanding of the harmful effects of alcohol and smoking and the availability of tools to resist them with professional counselling and support for youth at higher risk. A long-term project funded by Tin Ka Ping Foundation Featuring videos, exhibitions and talks for all Main targets parents, teachers and social workers who come into contact with young smokers and drinkers More details ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk Enquiries Jonnah Kwan 2702 2202

* Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office taco.gov.hk/t/english/infostation/infostation_ec.html

The Wellness Hub Wellness matters, especially at times like these when everything we do and feel can affect us. More than freedom from illness, wellness reflects the ability to grow and change and HKFYG’s Wellness Hub will appeal to stressed Hong Kong youth by offering timely information and access to professional help.

SPACE: a Wellness Hub Community Purposely designed to provide "me" time and space, the Wellness Hub encourages people of all ages to take time out of their busy daily lives. They can sit and enjoy the sounds of breathing exercises and listen to mindfulness songs. The goal is to instill a sense of peace, joy and care in the community. Appealing and colourful, the Wellness Hub is a private, comfortable space with a wellness experience offered through an audio-guided journey narrated by a clinical psychologist. During the journey, young people become more self-aware, learn how emotions function and how feelings last.

Featuring • Interactive games, breathing exercises and mindful songs

In partnership At the HKFYG Leadership Institute and innovative O2O* self-help Sponsored by HSBC 150th Anniversary Charity Programme Web version wellnesshub.hk Enquiries Fion Chau Tel 3422 3161 O2O: online-to-offline

• Immediate help-seeking and timely intervention with professional advice • Inspirational quotes for youth leaving the hub

On the agenda December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Protester Voices T

wo young protesters awaiting trial say they are unrepentant about breaking the law.Janny, 25, can’t forget the night of her arrested on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus. Bill, 23, an engineering undergraduate, recalls the trauma and the help given by a social worker.

JANNY “I lost count of the days at Poly U last September but I was determined never to surrender. Then came the morning when I was arrested. After that, I was taken to hospital. My hands were injured. I will leave it to you to imagine what had happened. After several days, I had to appear for a court hearing. My father hired a lawyer to defend me against the charge of rioting then I was released on bail.

Responsible citizenship is very important to me, but for that, Hong Kong needs good governance. Right now, I don’t think it’s possible. What the government does just seems to add fuel to the fire and I will never forgive them for what they have done to Hong Kong people, all of us, not just me.

Responsible citizenship is very important to me.

Of course, my parents are worried. They see being part of a stable society as a benefit even if – at least in my eyes – this society is unfair. We never agreed about politics before my arrest but I think their attitude changed when they saw my injured hands. I always used to think of them as pro-government but they listen more to what I have to say now. I still feel angry but I don’t show it any more. I recognize the risks involved in speaking out and am normally a peaceful, law-abiding person. Perhaps my family doesn't understand what changed me so much.

All we want is for promises to be kept and for Hong Kong to be left alone. Instead, what I see is Hong Kong failing. There is no choice but to become more like mainland China. I may have broken the law but I don’t think it’s enough. It is such a crucial time. It’s now or never. I don’t regret anything I’ve done but if I had the chance again, I would try to be wise and not get caught. Ever since I was arrested, I haven’t slept well. Sometimes I dream of what happened at Poly U, the fears, the rumours, the sense of disconnection from the world outside. All of it seems surreal now, but those few days will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

It's better not to be stubborn and always be prepared to listen. When I was arrested and my phone got confiscated, my sister heard nothing from me for a long time and so she knew I was in trouble. It must have been very hard for her to go home and tell our parents. We seldom talk politics with them because it causes arguments but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about each other. I knew I risked arrest by protesting. I was scared, but I still had to go. For me, it was a question of right and wrong rather than breaking the law. If a law is unjust, I think we should to do something about it. For me, this is a rational, core value that I treasure. However, it is also important to be flexible while we fight for Hong Kong’s future. If the situation changes, we should change too. It's better not to be stubborn and always be prepared to listen.

BILL “It’s already a long time since I got arrested but I still hope to graduate this year. Even if I’m sent to prison, I will try to keep studying, however hard it is. I was 23 that night when a squad of police caught me. They hurt me but not seriously and nobody hit me at the police station so that was a bit better than I expected. Many others were processed quickly and released on bail but I had a long, anxious wait. Finally, I was taken to court on a charge of rioting. My parents were there. It was a great comfort to see them but it was obvious how worried Mum was. My sister and I went to the protests together. We never told our parents but I think they knew. We took the risks seriously and made sure to watch live video before we left home, to check what was happening at the demonstrations. Like all our friends, we tried to stay together and take care of each other but if one of us pulled out or decided to stay at home we didn’t try to change their minds.

My Social worker encouraged me to become a volunteer, work for other people and stay on the right side of the law. My social worker was in court when my case was first heard. She approached my mother who was visibly worried. That was a critical time and she gave me and my parents counselling after finding out exactly what we needed. Later, my social worker encouraged me to become a volunteer, to work for other people and stay on the right side of the law. All the legal procedures are so complicated and my social worker is the one who is helping me get through it all. She helps my Mum as well. We trust her and that is very important in a situation like this.

HKFYG’s outreach social workers provided protesters with crisis intervention and psychological assessment and intervention as well as individual case counselling and support services for parents.

On the agenda December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Project Change • Psychosocial counselling and legal support are provided by Project Change for arrested protesters.

• 蛻變計劃（Project Change）為被捕青年提供心理輔導及法律支援。

• Dr Pauline Sung-Chan and Brian Wong share with us their objectives to support young people no matter what their political views or perspectives are.

• 宋陳寶蓮博士及黃裕舜先生跟讀者分享他們計劃以青年為本、不分政見立場的宗旨。

• Their targets are youth under 25 arrested because of the social incident.

Immense stress, anxiety and emotional turmoil follow arrest and the mental health and wellbeing of participants are priorities at Project Change. “Our goals are to advocate a non-partisan, de-politicized, youth-centred approach,” explains Brian Wong. He says the Project fills a gap in existing counselling services and has staff with relevant expertise to work with lawyers handling the intricacies of the legal process.

• 他們的服務對象為 25 歲以下、因參與社會事件而被捕的青年。

Family-centered therapy is at the Project’s core with the emphasis on ameliorating tense family relations and increasing parental support. “Our therapists are professionally trained to be sensitive, open-minded and professional,” says Pauline. Family members can only participate with the consent of the young arrestees in alignment with the principle of upholding their autonomy. “The most common hurdle is helping parents or guardians find the right balance in constructive reconnection with their kids and the key is to be neither over-protective nor permissive.” that healing and

“Regardless of political or ideological standpoint, our future generation deserves We firmly believe more than just ostracization supporting these young people ought or lip-service,” says Dr Pauling A mixture of one-on-one Sung. “We offer genuine and group-based therapy is to be an area of concern irrespective support and firmly believe used. “Participants discuss of political standpoint. that healing and supporting and reflect upon past these young people ought to events in Hong Kong in an be an area of concern irrespective of political standpoint.” organically collective manner, but also in ways that would heal, as opposed to exacerbate, the divides that have emerged While outlining the referral process that brings young people to between family members,” Pauline continues. Therapy them, Brian says establishing trust is important but sometimes and support is not only offered to the young people but difficult. “Arrested youths are usually referred to us by someone also their associates, including family members who enroll. whom they know well: school principals, university staff, “Therapy is about restoring agency to the hands of the defense lawyers, social workers or peers who know us.” youth. There can be no agency without family or society.” 30

Healing cannot begin without shunning ideological predispositions in favour of unifying factors. Describing the dilemma of young protesters facing trial, Pauline says, “They are usually unable to make decisions in their own best interests.” This is because of peer pressure or post-trauma withdrawal, especially given their relative lack of legal knowledge and the attitudes of parents and guardians. “We seek to help them receive the best-possible treatment and outcome given their situation and wellbeing.” “We have also been able to help the youth self-reflect critically,” she continues, “so that they can see their options while bearing in mind the undesirable impact of their actions on parents or significant others. Young people in the project are usually empowered to consider how they ought to communicate their commitment towards responsible citizenship in future - if given a second chance.” A criminal record does nothing for youth who are seeking to start afresh. As Brian points out, “An over-punitive approach would only further ostracize them, as opposed to reintegrating them.” Besides the stigma, a citizen with a criminal record may encounter practical difficulties later on in life, in areas such as career advancement and emigration. “Only appropriate treatments that are sensitive to the needs of arrestees within the judicial framework can lead to full reintegration in society.” It is with this objective in mind that Project Change prepares psychosocial reports on participants. These have potential reference value when the police, the prosecution or the judge consider findings. For arrestees who show remorse for minor offences, the judiciary and law enforcement departments may turn to arrangements that do not carry a criminal record, namely, Police Superintendent Discretionary Scheme (PSDS), and O.N.E. Bind-Over orders [see box]. The former is restricted to offenders under 18 while there is no age limit for the latter. Arrested youth whose offences are not minor do not qualify for PSDS or O.N.E. Bind-Over orders. If convicted, the psychosocial reports on them can be used by judges when deciding on penalties. They provide details of personal background and circumstances and

judges may consider alternatives to imprisonment such as community service orders, probation orders or detention in a training or rehabilitation centre. Pauline speaks of the profound effect that working on Project Change has wrought on her personally. “This experience has offered me invaluable insight into the mindsets and values of youth, some of whom have vastly different backgrounds or have drastically different ideological positions and values from my own.” “This project has only reinforced my conviction that our city is deeply in need of healing,” she concludes. “Healing cannot begin without shunning ideological predispositions in favour of unifying factors such as our shared commitment to mental health or our belief that Hong Kong’s youth deserves better than being admonished and patronized.”

Alternatives to prosecution PSDS Instead of being brought before a court, young people in the Police Superintendent Discretionary Scheme (PSDS) are cautioned and then placed under police supervision for two years. The scheme is used for minor offences. A caution is not a criminal conviction and so there is no obligation to disclose it. O.N.E. Bind Over In a bind-over order, the court agrees to withdraw charges in return for a promise of good behaviour for a period up to three years. Such an order ca n be applied to youth who have no previous criminal record and whose offence is not too serious. The accused is technically acquitted and has no criminal conviction record. Source clic.org.hk/en/topics/policeAndCrime/criminal_liability_and_penalties/q2.shtml

Project Change was launched in June 2020 by professionals and academics in social work, psychology, psychiatry and law. Participants enrol free of charge. All expenses are covered by donors and supporters. Services are delivered by a financially and operationally independent policy think tank called Citizen Action Design Lab (CADL) of which Dr Pauline Sung-Chan is Founding Director and Brian Wong is secretary. More details cadlprojectchange.org/en/

Youth watch December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

In conflict with the law detention, diversion and discretion Youth crime and delinquency have provoked mixed responses around the world and legislation on criminal offences committed by young people differs from one jurisdiction to another and changes over time. In some countries, there are calls for improved rehabilitation, diversion from criminal proceedings and support for juvenile offenders. In others, more punitive approaches are advocated. Whereas acts of theft and serious interpersonal violence are commonly considered to constitute criminal offences, alcohol consumption and sexual behaviour in young people are tolerated to varying degrees. Sometimes these differences arise as a consequence of historical or cultural factors and they may be underpinned by religious laws, as in some Middle Eastern countries. Currently, there is no agency whose jurisdiction is tracking worldwide juvenile delinquency but UNICEF estimates that over one million children and young people under 18 are in some type of detention globally.1

International guidelines The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child supports the establishment of diversion programmes and includes a number of principles that are relevant to young offenders. Other key international standards that concern young

Diversion programmes Diversion is the placement of youth in programmes that divert them away from the juvenile justice system or from secure detention in a juvenile justice facility. Diversion takes place after they have committed a crime and often involves children who have unstable lives. In some countries, diversion is also used with adult offenders.

offenders include “The Beijing Rules”2, “The Riyadh Guidelines” and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, or JDL Rules. The UN General Assembly adopted The Beijing Rules on 25 November 1985. The drafting of these rules took place at a conference in Beijing and initially, they were called the Bill of Rights for Young Offenders. They are intended to strengthen the juvenile justice system everywhere.3

Mental health and juvenile crime Public opinion surveys suggest that many people think mental illness and violence go hand in hand. In one such survey, 60% of Americans thought that people with schizophrenia were likely to act violently toward someone else, while 32% thought that people with major depression were likely to do so.4 In fact, research suggests that such perceived ideas do not reflect reality. Most mentally ill individuals are neither violent nor criminals. Although some people with psychiatric disorders commit offences, findings have been inconsistent about how much mental illness contributes to this behaviour and how much substance abuse and other factors do.5 Nevertheless, some research offers correlations. In the UK, for example, children who end up in custody are three times more likely to have mental health problems than those who do not. They are also likely to have more than one problem, a learning disability and drug and/ or alcohol dependency, for example.6 In the US, between 65% and 70% of the 2 million children and adolescents arrested each year have a mental health disorder and studies also have shown that up to two-thirds of juveniles in the justice system with any mental health diagnosis had dual disorders, most often including substance abuse.7

Overuse of detention of children Human Rights Watch has reported many examples worldwide. Here are just a few examples: • In Saudi Arabia, girls as well as adult women may be jailed, imprisoned and flogged for vague offenses such as “seclusion” and “mingling.” • In Chile, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru and the Philippines, girls who seek or procure an abortion may face criminal charges—even if the pregnancy was the result of rape. • In Egypt, Iran, Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and the Yemen juvenile offenders have been sentenced to death. • In Russia, children with disabilities may be taken to institutions shortly after birth where they may be tied to beds and receive little or no attention or education or health care. Human Rights Watch has found similar abusive practices in Croatia, Greece, and India.

Source hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/africa-americas-asia-europe/central-asia-middle-east/north

Street and gang activity Young people roaming the streets have become normal in many urban areas of the developing world, especially in cities characterized by slums. They often have few choices and estimates say tens of millions of children and youth live or work on the streets. The majority are in the most populous cities of sub-Saharan Africa, South America and India.8 Many often become involved in clandestine and informal gang activities and are tempted into criminality for the sake of survival or lured by the idea of fast profits and the need for recognition, approval and protection by peers. Worldwide, the youth most likely to participate in delinquent or violent activities are gang members.

Detention systems Although young people are held in specific juvenile facilities in some countries, detention conditions may be extremely poor. Furthermore, with dedicated juvenile justice systems absent in many developing countries, young people caught breaking the law often end up incarcerated in inappropriate facilities with adult criminals, putting them at risk on a number of different fronts. In the US, nearly 10% are incarcerated in adult jails and prisons, although there has been progress in the reform of the system in the past 20 years.9 Violence, including sexual violence, bullying, extortion and torture are the most typical forms of mistreatment and abuse inflicted on young people by adult inmates, and sometimes also by staff of such institutions who take advantage of age and power differentials.

The good news is that several countries, including Finland, Malta and the UK have agreed to end or sharply reduce detention of migrant children. In France and Israel, the detention of migrant children is limited to “exceptional circumstances.” Panama, Japan, Turkey, and Taiwan have enacted legislation prohibiting detention of migrant children. South Africa’s High Court ruled in a series of decisions beginning in 2004 that migrant children may only be detained as a last resort.10

Preferred responses Reform in response to juvenile offenders begins with the aim of preventing them from ever encountering the justice system. Failing this, diversion is central. There is evidence that most first-time offenders do not reoffend and that diversion and other community-based schemes are the best responses. These generate better outcomes for young people while still holding them accountable for their actions. Diversion programmes are common in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the UK and the US,11 but they vary in their intervention philosophies. They can be police-led, public service coordinated or restorative. They also feature counselling and skills-building. Policeled programmes include cautioning and warning. The primary goal is to identify the offender’s needs and link them to appropriate community services.12 Nevertheless, imprisonment, including pre-trial detention, is still used frequently for juveniles worldwide, including for young people who have committed minor crimes involving drug use and shoplifting household goods. 33

Youth watch December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Legal problems

Educational disengagement

Homelessness

Family violence

Suicidal thoughts

Family troubles that require significant family supports

Trauma

Risk signs and symptoms

Secual health issues

Social and familial isolation or exclusion

Abuse neglect and exploitation

Drug and alcohol addiction

Problematic sexualized behaviours

Culture, identity and gender-related issues Offending behaviours

Violent or self-harming behaviours (including radicalisation)

Disability, learning, speech impairments, etc

Mental health issues/ mental illness

Source dhhs.tas.gov.au/youth/youth_justice/youth_at_risk

In Hong Kong, diversion includes the Police Superintendent’s Discretion Scheme whereby young offenders aged 10-17 are cautioned rather than having to appear in court.13 Cases may be referred to NGOs such as HKFYG for follow-up. In Britain, the cautioning scheme has been extended to all age groups because of its efficacy and the police now give simple cautions for low-level crimes to adult offenders aged 18 and older.

Mainland China’s juvenile justice differs in certain respects from that of western countries. The first recognized juvenile court was established in Shanghai in 1984,14 but although juvenile offenders might be treated slightly differently from adults, the divergence is not yet significant, according to academic research.15 There have been calls from the public for lowering mainland China’s age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 but there is also a push for renewed juvenile justice reform that hopes to implement preventive laws to reduce juvenile recidivism through family education, procedural adjustments, and preventive measures. 16

Age of criminal responsibility Internationally, the minimum age of criminal responsibility varies between 6 and 18 and criminal majority is usually 18 years. The United Nations defines “youth’ as between 15 and 24 years of age. The term “young offenders” can refer to those under 18 and include young adults up to their mid-20s. Belgium is a country with a strong welfare process for youth crime and has a high minimum age of criminal responsibility, 18 years. EU countries generally give 14 or older as the age of criminal responsibility except for France and Poland where it is 13 whereas in both Turkey and the Netherlands it is 12. 17

Hong Kong’s age of criminal responsibility is 10. It was changed from 7 in 2003. According to the Juvenile Offenders 18 Ordinance, a child is defined as anyone aged 13 or younger. A young person is aged 14 or 15 and anyone who is 16 or older is no longer considered a juvenile offender. He or she would be tried in court same as an adult. Those convicted of an offence aged 10 to 15 are referred to as “juvenile offenders” while those aged 16 to 20 are called “young offenders.” India has 7 as its age of responsibility, the same as was the case in the past in Hong Kong. Macau has a Penal Code according to which persons under the age of 16 are “exempt from punishment” but the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 12. Mainland China has two ages of criminal responsibility: 14 for intentional homicide or intentionally hurting another person so as to cause serious injury or death, rape, robbery, drug-trafficking, arson, explosion or poisoning. For other 19 offences it is 16. Consideration is being given to lowering the age to 12 for homicide. 20 New Zealand’s age of criminal responsibility is 10. UK varies; 10 is the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales but it is 12 in Scotland. US American states vary and some have a criminal responsibility age as low as 6. Note Brazil and India were at time of writing each considering lowering the age of criminal majority, the minimum age for trial in the ordinary criminal courts, for some crimes. If these proposals are enacted in their current form, children ages 16 and over who are accused of serious crimes will be prosecuted in adult courts.

Sources 1. unicef.org/spanish/protection/files/Justice_for_Children_Detention.pdf 2.

ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/beijingrules.pdf

icjr.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Use-of-Diversion-in-Juvenile-Justice-Settings-in-Australia.pdf

health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/mental-illness-and-violence

thegreatcoursesdaily.com/mental-illness-and-crime-causation-or-correlation/

centreformentalhealth.org.uk/youth-justice

ncsl.org/documents/cj/jjguidebook-mental.pdf

un.org/esa/socdev/unyin//documents/wyr11/FactSheetonYouthandJuvenileJustice.pdf

prisonpolicy.org/reports/youth2019.html

10. hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/africa-americas-asia-europe/central-asia-middle-east/north 11. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4073/csr.2018.5 12. theinstitute.umaryland.edu/media/ssw/institute/md-center-documents/Youth-Diversion-Literature-Review.pdf 13. clic.org.hk/en/topics/policeAndCrime/Criminal-Records-and-the-Rehabilitation-of-Offenders-Ordinance/Criminal-Records/Police-Superintendents-Discretion-Scheme/ 14. researchgate.net/publication/339002442_From_Punishment_to_Control_Assessing_Juvenile_Diversion_in_China 15. researchgate.net/publication/281612947_China's_Juvenile_Justice_A_System_in_Transition 16. duihua.org/our-focus/#juvenile-justice 17. scmp.com/article/409141/minimum-criminal-culpability-age-raised 18. elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap226?xpid=ID_1438402856544_001 19. archive.crin.org/en/home/ages/asia.html 20. caixinglobal.com/2020-10-13/chinas-lawmakers-consider-allowing-12-year-olds-to-be-charged-with-murder-101614314.html

Features December 2020â&#x2C6;ŁYouth Hong Kong

Seen on Lung Fu Shan With COVID-19 raging around the globe, it has not been an easy year. Nobody who enjoys exploring and living the dream of travelling around the world would have thought a pandemic would leave them grounded in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, it has given me the chance to reflect on life through local tourism.

by Woody Wu

my first encounter with a masked palm civet. We looked each other in the eye

Even before the pandemic, I loved exploring Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s countryside. From time to time, I met up with friends from secondary school and went looking for wild animal tracks around Hoi Ha, Tai Po Kau, Mai Po and other locations. Last April, as the weather became warmer and amphibians and reptiles became more active, a university hall mate familiar with the local ecology, invited me to go on a night walk up Lung Fu Shan to look for snakes and frogs that are rarely seen during the day.

All of a sudden I heard a loud rustling in the trees above. I looked up. It was my first encounter with a masked palm civet. We looked each other in the eye, and thankfully, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t scared away. Indeed, here on the edge of the country park, it seemed to have become accustomed to living near people. In the few seconds of its appearance, it almost felt as if we recognized one another even though there was only time to take a photograph.

Because of the ban on large social gatherings, the mountainside was surprisingly busy, even at night. There were joggers and walkers as well as people like ourselves looking high and low for the normally hidden face of nature. There are times when there is nothing special to see and the reward comes just in the process of looking and the people you go with. But this time, I was lucky.

This meeting helped me understand the value of preserving the ecological resources that remain in Hong Kong and reflect upon what we can do for the native inhabitants of Lung Fu Shan. I became an intern at Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre and as a result began frequenting the area. That gave me the chance to come into contact again with the little creatures that live there.

Photo by Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre

Lung Fu Shan is the smallest country park in Hong Kong and the home of thousands of species of wild animals. There are many stories about it and the conservation efforts made by a host of mountain-goers. Once I knew more about the mountains, I no longer pursued only rare species. I could experience the realities of existence just by observing silently every movement of the tiny ants in the Education Centre’s garden as I watched them find food and a mate – and then die. This natural classroom made me realize how hard it is to maintain a pristine natural environment. It also taught me how to appreciate the beauty of nature. I may have lost the chance to travel overseas in 2020, but with loss came gains. As more and more people took to the hills during the pandemic, it was a good opportunity to start noticing and caring about Hong Kong’s ecology. Some started collecting trash on the hills and on the beaches as a contribution to environmental protection. If only that contribution could last and become everyone’s habit, not just a short-lived phenomenon.

Woody Wu is a Year 2 student in the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Arts and an intern at Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre. The Centre opened in April 2008, jointly established by the Environmental Protection Department and The University of Hong Kong. More details lungfushan.hku.hk/en

Features December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Sam Tung Uk

capturing the past

One of Hong Kong’s 123 declared monuments is Sam Tung Uk, a walled village which has survived the centuries despite rapid nearby development in Tsuen Wan. The Chans, a Hakka family, lived there from 1786 until 1980 in the three rows of dwellings denoted by its name. Now a museum, it dates back to when pirates hid along Hong Kong’s shores and the Chans built high walls to keep them out. Occupying an area of 2,000 square metres, the symmetrical layout of the village resembles a chessboard with an entrance hall, an assembly hall and an ancestral hall at the central axis. With four individual houses in the middle, the village is completely fortified. 38

By Steven Ku

It faces the Rambler Channel north of Tsing Yi island and used to have a marvellous view. Despite the fact that it is now surrounded by tall buildings, this fantastic location is still thought to have good feng shui which brought luck and wealth. The village has been part of my life because it is extremely close to my secondary school. I have passed it on my way to lunch in a nearby shopping mall for six years. My schoolmates and I even used to play hide-and-seek there. I am 18 and villages like this are rare in Hong Kong. Try to find one yourself before itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too late. Maybe it will capture your imagination as Sam Tung Uk captured mine. More details lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/ICHO/en_ US/web/icho/sam_tung_uk_museum.html

Steven Ku is taking part in the Hong Kong Young Ambassadors Scheme which is organized by HKFYG and the Tourism Commission

HKFYG December 2020â&#x2C6;ŁYouth Hong Kong

Together We Love and Care A new wave of coronavirus cases began in Hong Kong in November while countries around the world entered a state of lockdown. In such times, how can we maintain the kind of positive attitude that spreads a sense of love and support for each other and the world around us? Designed to support everyone during the ongoing pandemic, this multifaceted programme, called Together We Love and Care, caters for young people and the general public. It responds to psychological and physical health needs as well as the need for social contact.

The Federation believes in providing platforms which help youth learn and develop during this extraordinary period. We gained experience with our Non-Stop Care and Support Campaign and now, under the umbrella of Together We Love and Care, we are launching a series of online and offline projects. Our goal is to motivate people all over the world to stay positive and love and support each other no matter what hurdles they face.

m21.hk Seasons of Love@M21

A variety of leisure vidoes including local travel that promotes wellness and the pleasant sensations of ASMR.*

*Note ASMR: Autonomous sensory meridian response

主辦機構：

Healing Tuesday

Offering online mindfulness activities that help reduce stress and anxiety, anytime, anywhere.

wmc.hkfyg.org.hk/

Sport-cation

Calling for Wellness Buddies to be sports volunteers.

https://cts.hkfyg.org.hk/ 山人同行 /

鳴謝：

Neighbours Buy and Deliver

Bringing young volunteers and needy seniors, the chronically ill and disabled together with youth shopping for basic commodities and arranging home deliveries to minimize risk of neighbourhood infections.

The HKFYG Inno Impact Project

Revealing innovativeness, creating social value with 18-35-year-olds with funding and support for selected innovations. Five creative projects will be selected for up to HK$200,000 in cash and other forms of support under the Innovation Scheme.

Hope for a COVIDfree21 This social media campaign mobilizes local youth to spread positive social media messages around the world about caring and alertness in the battle against COVID-19. Christmas is coming! Let’s take simple actions and watch Hong Kong youth bring in the New Year with hope for a COVIDfree 2021!

More details hkfyg.org.hk/TogetherWeLoveAndCare

HKFYG December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Kayak + Sea Clean Campaign

Combining sport, wellness and social responsibility with environmental protection Surgical masks, bags and bottles: plastic, everywhere, much of which ends up in the sea where it can choke birds, fish and other sea creatures. This destroys the ocean’s ecosystem and often ends up in the seafood we eat. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and even after it does, it can release toxins into its surroundings. Departure point HKFYG Jockey Club Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp Aim To fight pollution

Target Carelessly discarded garbage including face masks, polystyrene, fishing tackle etc

With Regular sea kayaking and beach cleaning on Hong Kong coastlines Venues Sai Kung, Tai Mei Tuk and Tap Mun Ongoing Through 2023

Launched October 2020 Frequency fortnightly

For everyone aged 12 – 25

Help to save Hong Kong’s marine life and coasts Free of charge Except transport to the camp and meals Maximum per group trip 16 persons

Coming up April-October 2021 Free training for Kayak 3-star Award to facilitate beach cleaning Sign up for our waiting list Call Abby Luk 2413 6669

Don’t wait till it’s too late, join us out there Help save Hong Kong’s beautiful beaches for future generations

A campaign supported by the HKFYG Jockey Club Youth Sports Development Project

PH3 is a Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups social enterprise located on the third floor of the revitalised historic building on Lee Tung Street. It’s a 5 to 8 minute walk from Wan Chai MTR station. With three combined units and terrace of 89 square meters, it’s a perfect venue for any private or corporate event. PH3 also provides an elegant live music venue in Wan Chai for a wide variety of musical performances. It’s a relaxed, unpretentious place to spend an evening and one of the best choices you could make if you’re looking for a chilled-out spot for music and drinks. Private or corporate parties Wedding ceremonies Dining in

Small-scale concerts Corporate functions Seminars and workshops

Cultural and artistic exchanges Business meetings Celebrations

Venue Booking Service Address: 3/F,186-190 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai

Tel : 5933 6323

Website : PH3.hk

Funded by 捐助機構 Funded by

Organised by 主辦機構 by Organised

Future-proofing Careers five essential skills

How to make sure your skills stay in date as the world and technology change? Here are “five essentials.” All university students should know about them in the effort to future-proof their careers. They emphasize digital and technological skills to keep you competitive.

Expert Data Analysis

In-depth analysis of data will be fundamental if you want to ensure you stay on top of business trends and customer insights.

Advanced Social Selling Out with cold calling, in with value-based social selling. Haven’t heard of it? It uses social media to find, connect with, understand and nurture your best sales prospects.

Multi-platform UX design

3 Mobile Expertise Mastering mobile technology is more than owning a device. The way forward involves adapting business communication and content through mobile apps.

Upcoming: InnoTech Experience & Placement Placement provides participants with job experience at innotech startup companies. They offers idea exchange and learning from industry experts with: • Understanding company structure • Introduction to company’s technologies

User experience (UX) design leads the way for everything from devices to platforms and from apps to websites, offering a greater reach to potential clients.

Network and information security With the emphasis on technology, cybersecurity is critical if you want to ensure clients’ information, data and transactions are safe.

Future Skills: Three Pillars • Financial Capability • Future Skills for Employment • Innovation and Technology The HSBC Future Skills Development Project, organized by HKFYG, adopts these three pillars to provide youth with diversified learning experiences, opportunities for practical application and professional training that can enhance their future skills. Email: futureskills@hkfyg.org.hk

• Guidance of company instructors √ Two-day placements with matched companies

Website: hkfyg.org.hk/futureskills

√ Preferences considered for company placement

Contact: 2169 0255

√ Matching of company needs and preferred skills √ Placement at preferred company depends on availability Company list at bit.ly/39A9KsB

Registration open till Dec 2021 at bit.ly/h102_2020

Note Placement on a voluntary, unpaid basis without future employment commitment

Christmas Goodies Christmas is nearly here and programmes and activities are coming at the HKFYG Organic Farm. Serving thousands of loyal customers for nearly a decade, the farm offers regular supplies of fresh seasonal produce.

Green Christmas Hampers Five catties of freshly harvested vegetables Possible combinations cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, kale, carrots, green papaya, beetroot, and other seasonal produce Price HK$$628 Online Shop Go to organicfarm.hk/pages/shop-organic?locale=zh-hant&locale=en Order and enjoy home delivery of festive hampers, fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs natural drinks, potted plants and other healthy products Free delivery Any order of a Green Christmas Hamper enjoys free delivery service to a single destination with a few exceptions [*see below] From 16 December to 18 December 2020 and on both 21 December and 23 December 2020 Payment By credit card when ordering through the online shop

Farm tours and action: Green Weekend at the Organic Farm Learn online what organic farming means then book a visit to the farm Visit for HK$98 DIY green workshop, entrance fee and hands-on harvesting DIY green workshop Rosemary salt, veggie enzyme making, farm hunting etc. with round trip shuttle from Kam Sheung Road Station to the Farm Location Pat Heung,1 Ho Pui Reservoir Family Walk see g.page/HKFYGOrganicFarm?share Contacts

Please note: delivery times cannot be specified

Tel 2838 4808

*An additional fee of HK$100 will be charged for delivery to outlying islands, Park Island, Discovery Bay, Tung Chung and Chek Lap Kok. Confirmation of delivery details will be provided.

Email organicfarm@hkfyg.org.hk

WhatsApp 9087 0852 Web organicfarm.hk/

All agricultural products produced by the HKFYG Organic Farm and sold at its Organic Online Store are certified by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre.

HKFYG December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong

Lamma Camping Cool weather is perfect for exploring Lamma Island. Drink in the daytime natural surroundings with fresh air, exercise and beautiful sunsets. Then experience the quiet and excitement of camping at night. Night guided eco tour • Discover Romer’s Tree Frog and other Lamma species • Learn how to put up a tent • Make fire with dead branches • Use a camp cooking set to make traditional red bean puddings Next day • Boost physical fitness • Practise communication skills • Teamwork for wilderness adventure-based activities For 4-16 persons 4-person groups: $2,280 6-person groups: $2,480 8-person groups: $3,160 9-16 persons: $395 per head Includes tent, BBQ & breakfast, programme fee, instructors and equipment Contact Kenneth Chan Tel 2395 5676 Email camp@hkfyg.org.hk Address Tai Tong, Lamma Island Camp location: See lyc.hkfyg.org.hk 45-minute walk from Yung She Wan Pier of Lamma Island Web lyc.hkfyg.org.hk [in Chinese] ECO-adventure GO!

School@Parks is an educational series where participants learn first-hand about the countryside. This Ecoadventure Go Camp includes a visit to the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park run by the WWF. Ecology is the main focus with a visit to the nearby wetland near the campsite included. At the end of the camp, participants use their creative flair to make Leave No Trace souvenirs.

Soft Skills Collaboration, teamwork and self-discipline

Tech knowledge Marine and wetland ecology on Leave No Trace principles

Book here otc.hkfyg.org.hk

Date 18-20 Dec 2020 (3-days-2-nights) At HKFYG Jockey Club Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp For Up to 24 10-12 year-olds Cost HK$1080 per head

Partnering for YOUth

co-creating a brighter future

To kick-start our annual planning cycle for the year 2021-22, we invite all our partners in Hong Kong and beyond to share views and ideas on directions for collaborative services.

Emphasis on stakeholder engagement Faced with the ongoing pandemic, we see challenges ahead but we’re ready to meet them with you at our side! Difficulties in Hong Kong and around the world have meant loved ones lost, families suffering, the elderly isolated and friends kept apart. That’s why at home, at

leisure and in the workplace, physically and emotionally, health, healing and wellness are our watchwords. With businesses closing and schools suspended, we are also doing all we can to help preserve jobs and maintain prosperity. At times of such economic downturn, future skills are at the forefront and they are the other key to our ongoing services.

Three strategic areas Our commitment to addressing the needs of youth in turbulent times means that service development in the coming year is all about “Healing & Hope”, “Future Skills” and “All-round Wellness.” Highlighting healing and hope  Youth employment to give hope  Enhanced employability through re-skilling and up-skilling  Work in the gig economy plus placement opportunities  Immediate COVID-19 relief with hygiene products, masks and food  “Together We Love and Care” to promote caring, locally and globally

Furthering future skills  Preparing future-ready youth with:  Digital skills

Wishing you all-round wellness  Promoting enhanced awareness of physical, emotional and social wellness  Boosting youth wellness in family, school and workplace settings

 Resilience & adaptability  Life planning  Wellness management  Innovation & problem-solving

 Fostering wellness throughout the virtual world

 Communication & cooperation

Annual Plan hkfyg.org. hk/en/2020/04/27/hkfyg2020-21-annual-plan/ Let’s work together for youth and society Enquiries Eva Tseung [+852] 3755 7088

Five-year Development Plan hkfyg.org.hk/en/2019/04/30/ hkfyg_4th_fiveyearplan_en/

Share your ideas for sunny days ahead Email the Corporate Planning Unit cp@hkfyg.org.hk by 31 January 2021

Flexible Working Arrangements

his study looks at ways to maximize the advantages of the flexible working arrangements. They help to maintain productivity, improve work-life balance and have become a normal part of working life during the pandemic.. The government has tried to encourage flexible working arrangements (FWAs) since 2006. The introduction of familyfriendly employment practices was a start but greater flexibility is needed in terms of where and when work is completed.

Key points from full-time working youth ● The majority rated FWAs as enablers of work-life balance at 6.89 on a 0-10 scale. ● 45% said they understood that FWAs might be unsuitable for some types of work. ● 43.4% hoped employers would offer FWAs. ● 21.1% said their employers allowed FWAs before the pandemic. ● 18.2% had worked from home during the pandemic.

Comments from Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tank members

Views from business sector experts

Ronald Chan, group convenor “The Hong Kong workplace lacks flexibility in general. The government should optimize the Distance Business Programme by increasing funding for each SME that adopts IT solutions. This would allow businesses to continue offering services during the pandemic and provide incentives for implementing FWAs.”

FWAs are difficult to implement, according to industry experts, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with insufficient human and financial resources. Interviews with representatives of employers said there were limits to flexibility in certain industries. ● A representative of the Employers’ Federation of Hong Kong was concerned about the effect predominantly online communication could have on service industries. ● Company representatives revealed difficulties faced by managers trying to facilitate communication between colleagues and trying to measure performance when FWAs were implemented. ● A Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce spokesperson was concerned about the effect that FWAs and working from home would have on training of new recruits and the burden they could add to administration. Report No.52 HKFYG Youth I.D.E.A.S. Livelihood group Published title Maximizing the Advantages of Flexible

Working Arrangements

Participants/respondents 521 full-time working youth

aged 20-39

More details in Chinese yrc.hkfyg.org.

hk/2020/09/28/yi052/

Enquiries Adam Choi 3755 7042

Jenny Liu, deputy group convenor “Regulatory bodies

should review insurance coverage in existing labour laws and share best practice for FWAs in SMEs during the pandemic while continuing research into the use of FWAs in Hong Kong workplaces.”

Ricky Szeto, group member “Currently, the government’s promotion of FWAs lacks transparency and has no effective measurement mechanism so it is difficult to monitor. The government should set up employee-based indicators with reference to practice in the UK and Singapore. These should include the level of acceptance of FWAs among employees, the extent to which FWAs are implemented and the level of employee satisfaction with them.” Petra Pun and David Tsoi, group members “The Family Council is responsible for promoting family-friendly policies in the workplace but its roles and function need review given changes since its establishment in 2007, especially during the pandemic. In the long run, the government should broaden the scope of family-friendly employment practices to cater for youth’s needs. There should also be government subsidies or tax benefits awarded to companies in the Family-Friendly Employers Award Scheme, thus helping to create a flexible working culture that benefits both employers and employees.”

Improving Advisory Body Operations

dvisory and statutory bodies provide a suitable platform for views and for voices to be heard and for responses to be given. How can Hong Kong's present system be improved?

A plan to appoint more 18-35-year-olds to serve on advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs) was announced in the 2017 Policy Address with the ostensible aim of increasing the overall ratio to 15% by 2022. However, as of December 2019, the proportion had risen to only 11.6%.

Key points from respondents ● 72.9% believed young people such as themselves could bring about change through participation.

● 27.1% expressed interest in self-nomination for certain advisory government committees.

Ø 55.6% wished to do so mainly to represent other youth. Ø 54.2% wished to do so mainly to influence policy-making.

● When asked how they would rate the ASBs’ current performance

in three basic functions, respondents gave the following rankings: Ø enhancing the legitimacy of policy: 5.55 Ø collecting professional views: 5.52 Ø encouraging public participation: 5.28

[On a scale of 10 indicates excellent performance and 0 indicates poor performance.]

Key points from individual youth interviews ● Taking part in the work of advisory bodies is meaningful

because: Ø they provide a platform for rational discussion Ø it is possible to express opinions directly to the government Ø it provides a chance to become more familiar with the operations of government Ø young members can learn from the experienced senior members Ø it allows an outlet for innovative ideas

● Interviewees currently serving on advisory bodies

expressed concern about Ø time management issues that would make it difficult to continue serving in the near future Ø peers who doubted the significance of any contribution they made on ASBs Ø lack of promotion of work of ASBs leading to misapprehensions among the general public about their performance

Comments from Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tank group members Ansel Lam “A review of the role and functions of ASBs is overdue but the last one took place in 2003. The city has experienced many changes since then and the government should explore new out-of-the-box approaches, collecting views from members of the public in various walks of life.” Vivian Leung “To facilitate youth engagement in advisory committees, we would like to see the government and society join hands and promote a suitably friendly workplace culture. This should allow up to four hours of leave each month to attend meetings for public affairs participation.” Dennis Leung “We recommend the establishment of a government support platform for young ASB members to clearly define their role increase their influence.”

Report No.53 HKFYG Youth I.D.E.A.S. Governance group

Published title Improving Operations of Advisory Bodies to Better Facilitate Youth Engagement Respondents 524 young people aged 18-35

Interviews 18 youth, 8 of whom are current members of advisory bodies, plus three experts or academics More details in Chinese yrc.hkfyg.org.hk/2020/09/14/yi053/ Enquiries Sharon Cheung 3755 7039

Youth Employment in the Pandemic

OVID-19 has brought about rapid economic downturn and unemployment everywhere. The number of unemployed people in Hong Kong aged 15-34 reached 106,900 in 2020 Q3, a new high since SARS in 2003. How can youth adapt? The estimated total loss of working hours around the world in 2020 Q2 was 17.3% compared to 2019 Q4, equivalent to 495 million full-time jobs, according to the International Labour Organization. This crisis is likely to continue into 2021. The younger and older age cohorts of the working population, as well as those in informal employment, have been hit particularly hard.

Key points from respondents ● 18-24-year-olds are more likely than older respondents to worry about accumulating work or professional experience ● 81.8% believe new industries will emerge ● 77.3% say demand for new knowledge and skills will increase ● 71.7% think overall vacancies will decrease ● 66.0% agree that adapting to new demands in the market is necessary ● 55.6% say they do not know what occupations they should switch to ● 55.0% encountered employment problems ● 53.3% say they lack knowledge and skills to switch occupations ● 39.7% think the situation could be worse post-pandemic than pre-pandemic Interviews show that informal workers and those with no full-time work experience are the hardest-hit groups. More experienced workers are reluctant to switch occupations because of loss of status and lower pay. Furthermore, the global pandemic and problems in international politics have caused instability in demand. Companies need to alter business models and manpower policies rapidly but job training mechanisms in Hong Kong respond too slowly. Nevertheless, opportunities for young people do exist, especially in areas that are still recruiting, such as technology and medicine, or where there are shortages, such as in elderly care and construction.

Comments from Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tank members Denis Huen, group convenor “The government could encourage more employment opportunities by providing tax breaks for enterprises that offer more part-time or half-time jobs. For people reluctant to switch occupations, youth service agencies could introduce a diversified local working holiday scheme that provides job experience in industries or occupations unfamiliar to participants. They could see this as a gap year with career counselling and work-related skills training in preparation for the next career stage.” Peter Lau, group member “The government should speed up economic restructuring. It should introduce an employee training scheme in which programmes are proposed by the business sector to meet new demands for manpower quickly. The companies proposing the programmes would employ people who had completed training. In addition, the government should offer trainee programmes for university graduates to help them gain work experience.”

Report No.54 HKFYG Youth I.D.E.A.S.

Employment and Economic Development group Published title Opportunities for Youth Employment Amid the Pandemic Respondents 600 18-34-year-olds who had left school were polled and 20 youth in the same age group who

had encountered employment problems during the pandemic were interviewed.

More details in Chinese yrc.hkfyg.org.hk/2020/11/02/yi054/ Enquiries Amy Yuen 3755 7037

H K F YG Online Bookstore

Winter Sale 3 or more books

All titles

Special offers

20% 30% 40% off

9 / 12

31 / 12

off

Free

Gifts

books.hk fyg.org.hk

yvn.hkfyg.org.hk

Tr y n o w

now

Enrollment deadline specially extended to 15 Jan 2021 Publisher : The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

香港青年協會

hkfyg.org.hk．m21.hk

Youth Hong Kong: 21/F, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point, Hong Kong Tel : 3755 7097．3755 7108．Fax : 3755 7155．Email : youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk．Website : youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk The title of this journal in Chinese is Xiang Gang Qing Nian 香港青年

Soy-ink is made from soybeans and is both environmentally friendly and sustainable. Soy-ink is biodegradable and non-toxic.

YHK-12-4-Vulnerable and Resilient

Articles inside

Report 54 employment

Youth IDEAS Report 52 flexible work

Report 53 advisory bodies

Annual plan

Farm and camps

Future skills

PH3

Seen on Lung Fu Shan

Kayak and Clean

Covid-19: Together we love and care

Begin from Family

Protester Voices

In conflict with the law

Capturing the past

Project Change

Project R and Project Radar

Building resilience

Family and impulsivity

Moving beyond stigma

In trouble

What makes youth vulnerable?

Motivation to change

On the brink